


The Country Boy and the Puppeteer

by scarlet_breeze



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: LITERALLY, M/M, also asahi is suga's assistant in his magic acts, animaltrainer/ringleader!Daichi, countryboy!Yamaguchi, ennoshita is the cook with impressive knife skills, hinata kageyama tanaka and nishinoya are puppets, magician!Suga, more specifically tsuki's puppets, puppeteer!Tsukishima, this is gonna be fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7331968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlet_breeze/pseuds/scarlet_breeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamaguchi Tadashi, a young naive country boy, decides to leave his little village to explore the world. He meets Sugawara Koushi and Sawamura Daichi, the leaders of a small performing troupe that invite him to stay with them for the month they are in town. He also meets Tsukishima Kei, a mean and rude member of the troupe. As Yamaguchi gets comfortable being in the troupe he quickly befriends the puppets of one of the acts. He talks to them about anything you would tell a best friend and, in turn, they help him out and give him advice. However, unknown to Yamaguchi, the person behind the puppets he dearly calls friends is none other than Tsukishima.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Town, A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a movie I saw once a long time ago called Lili. It's been years since I saw it so I don't remember much. There are a few basic ideas that are similar to the film here that inspired me to write this. It's my first Tsukiyama fic so I hope I write them well, and I hope you enjoy this!!

As he walked along the small dirt road with suitcase in hand, Yamaguchi Tadashi gave a heavy sigh. At first, traveling to faraway places and meeting new people sounded like a great idea. He thought he wouldn’t miss many things from the country side because he didn’t have much to begin with. Being an orphan, he had already felt like an outcast among the other children with loving parents. He did live at the village orphanage, but because of his messy brown hair, more specifically the cowlick that wouldn’t stay down, and the freckles on his face, the other children would bully him. He decided that when he was old enough to leave the orphanage he would search for a place and a family that accepted him. As the years got closer to his day to depart, he was filled with a sense of wanderlust. He wanted to get out of his little village and see what the big, wide world had to offer. This is what had him walking along a dusty, dirt road so many miles away from the country. He wanted to return to the little village that he once called home. He didn’t have many great memories of it, but at least everything was familiar there. He could have just decided to find a job, rent a little space to live in, and just live like that for the rest of his life, but that’s not what he wanted. Ignoring the feeling of homesickness, he trudged on towards a little town a traveling merchant had told him about.

After walking for a couple more hours, Yamaguchi was finally able to see the town’s buildings coming into view. Perking up, he hurried towards the town. As he walked in, people were walking about hustling and bustling, rushing to unknown places. Yamaguchi looked around, taking up the sights of the busy little town.

_“Wow, there are so many people!”_ Yamaguchi thought to himself in excitement. As he kept looking around, he stopped paying attention at what was in front of him, cause him to bump into the back of a stranger. A very tall stranger, Yamaguchi noticed.

“Sorry, I-,” he started.

“Watch where you’re going,” the stranger interrupted. Before Yamaguchi had time to reply back, the stranger walked away.

“That was rude,” he muttered under his breath. Realizing he had dropped his suit case after that accident, Yamaguchi looked around, only to find another man picking it up. The man seemed to look a couple years older than Yamaguchi. He had ash blond hair and a beauty mark under his left eye. He was wearing a dark purple tailcoat suit with a slight shimmer to it and white gloves. The man smiled as he handed the suitcase back to Yamaguchi.

“I’m sorry about that,” the man said. Yamaguchi just gave him a confused look, but the man only chuckled.

“Are you new to this town?” asked the man.

“Yes, I am,” Yamaguchi replied slightly tense.

“My name’s Sugawara Koushi, but most people call me Suga,” the man said as he gave another smile to Yamaguchi. Feeling a little more relaxed, Yamaguchi gave Suga his name.

“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi,” he paused and rubbed the back of his head shyly, “Heh, sorry, I’ve never been to a town this big so I’m a little nervous talking to people.”

“Oh, I completely understand! I used to be like that when I was younger. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon enough,” he paused for a second, studying Yamaguchi’s expression, “Tell you what, I need to stop my troupe right now but if you want, you can come with me and I can show you around town after taking care of some business,” Suga told him. Knowing no one else in town, Yamaguchi agreed. His caretakers at the orphanage always told him to be wary of strangers, but Sugawara felt trustworthy to him. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but he knew he wasn’t in any danger by accepting Suga’s offer. As they walked to the other side of the town, they made small talk. Suga talked about his troupe to Yamaguchi, explaining how they were in town for a month performing. He told Yamaguchi how he and his childhood friend came from a family of performers and when they were old enough to leave home, they decide to form their own little troupe and travel to unknown places and perform for the people they met along the way. He would tell Yamaguchi about some of the adventures they had together. Being a country boy with no adventures of his own, Yamaguchi listened earnestly. After a while of talking, Suga asked Yamaguchi about himself.

“Well, there’s really not much to tell. I’m from the countryside, from a tiny village west from here. I lost my parents when I was very young so I lived in the village orphanage. I recently turned old enough to leave so I thought I would travel and discover new places. I never knew it would be so scary to leave a familiar place. I didn’t have any friends growing up so it’s not like I could have asked anyone to come with me,” Yamaguchi explained.

“Must be lonely,” Suga sympathized and Yamaguchi just nodded. “Do you have a destination in mind? Like a place you’re planning on going?” asked Suga.

“No, not really. I’m just wondering around,” replied Yamaguchi. At his answer. Sugawara’s face lit up with a smile.

“I have an idea. Why don’t you stay with us for the month we’re here in town? If you want, you can even come with us when it’s time for us to leave, or you can go your own way if decide,” he told the boy.

“Oh no, I don’t want to impose! It’s already kind of you to show me around town,” Yamaguchi responded.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not imposing, honest. I know the troupe will like you, and I’m sure Daichi wouldn’t mind either. You could always help us out if you still feel unsure,” Suga told him. Yamaguchi stayed quiet, thinking it over. He really didn’t have anywhere to go, and being around others wouldn’t be as lonely as traveling alone. He gave Suga his answer, and the other positively beamed at him. They kept walking a few more minutes and finally arrived where the troupe was stationed. As they made their way towards a tall tent, another man came out. He looked to be around the same age as Suga, only this man was slightly taller with short black hair and with a much broader built. He wore a tailcoat suit but instead of purple it was black. He also wore white gloves and, unlike Suga, he wore a top hat. He looked around until he spotted the two and made his way towards them.    

“Ah, Suga, I need-,” he stopped mid-sentence. He looked at Yamaguchi then at Suga, who was smiling at him expectantly. The man brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose while sighing. All he had to do was look at Suga’s smiling face to tell him everything.

“Suga, don’t tell me you-”

“Daichi, this is Yamaguchi. I found him wondering around town and found out he has nowhere to go. He’s going to be staying with us. At least for the time being,” the ash blond man interrupted. The man, Daichi, didn’t have time for this at the moment so he just greeted Yamaguchi.

“Hello Yamaguchi, my name’s Sawamura Daichi but you can just call me Daich,” he smiled at the boy who just nodded in acknowledgement. Then Daichi continued, “Suga said you’d be staying with us so I assume he was going to show you around,” he turned to Suga, “But there’s some business we need to discuss.”

“Right. Well, we could always have someone else show him around,” Suga said as he looked around for somebody.

“Ah! Tsukishima! Can you come here a second?” he said calling over a tall boy with glasses and blond hair.

“Yes?” he asked with a board tone as he approached the small group.

“Would you mind showing Yamaguchi here around the troupe and town? Daichi and I have some things to discuss and won’t have time to show him around,” Suga said. Tsukishima glanced down to Yamaguchi, surprised to find it was the boy who he had bumped into earlier, though he didn’t show it. Yamaguchi was also surprised at this discovery. He now understood why Sugawara had apologized when they first met.

“I guess,” Tsukishima replied after a pause.

“Alright, now that that’s settled,” Suga stated as he pulled Daichi back towards the tent, “Let’s go Daichi.”

As they turned to go, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima just stared at the retreating figures and heard Daichi say, “How many times do I have to tell you, you can’t just adopt anyone you find.” As a response to Daichi’s scolding, Suga tugged him down and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.

“You’ve never stopped me before, though,” Suga said smiling and entered the tent with Daichi in tow.

“Gross,” Yamaguchi heard Tsukishima comment beside him. Well, what he saw was certainly unexpected, but he didn’t think it was gross at all. He thought it was sweet, and even though he had only just met Suga and Daichi, somehow they looked like they belonged together. He realized Tsukishima started to walk away but stopped to address him.

“Well? Aren’t you coming,” he asked.

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry,” Yamaguchi responded, catching up to Tsukishima.

 


	2. On with the Show!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamaguchi meets some rather interesting "people."

So far, Yamaguchi has learned that the town is very big, despite its quaint buildings, and that in the center of town there’s a huge fountain with crystal clear water flowing through it. He has also learned that Tsukishima Kei is not a very good tour guide. After they left where the troupe was stationed, Tsukishima just walked. Yamaguchi followed a few steps behind, but he was expecting something else when Tsukishima had agreed to take him around town. He gave a sigh.

            “What?” asked Tsukishima. Yamaguchi didn’t expect him to be paying attention.

            “Oh, uh, nothing.”

            “You just sighed. An exasperated sigh at that.”

            Now this really surprised Yamaguchi. Well, there’s another thing he just learned about his companion. He learned that the blond is very perceptive despite his indifferent expression.

            “It’s just…. When Suga said you’d show me around town I expected something else.”

“Like what?”

“Well, maybe like telling me where stuff is, point out shops, stuff like that.”

“Suga told me to _show_ you around, not give you a tour and explain the history of the town. We just arrived a few days ago. I’m not a resident of this town you know.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to point out shops so I know what they are. I’m sure in those few days you’ve been here you’ve walked around enough to know where things are located,” Yamaguchi replied, feeling irritation bubbling up from inside.

“Figure it out yourself. That’s what I did. I’m only walking around with you because Daichi and Suga asked me to,” the blond responded and walked further ahead.

With that statement, Yamaguchi furrowed his brows in anger and uttered, “Jerk.” Again, he didn’t expect Tsukishima to hear him, but the blond surprised him yet again.

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

This remark made the irritation build up even more. Unsure of what will happen, Yamaguchi decided he couldn’t be around the blond anymore.

“Can you take me back to the troupe?” requested Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima just glanced towards the brunet.

“Whatever. This is a waste of my time anyway,” he stated.

* * *

 

Back at the camp, everything seemed busier than earlier. As he watched everyone hurriedly move about, Yamaguchi heard Tsukishima tsk.

“Damn. I forgot today’s the first performance,” Tsukishima said to no one in particular. He turned to leave, but the sound of Yamaguchi’s voice stopped him.

“Wait. Are you just going to leave me?”

“Obviously. I’m part of the troupe too, so I have to prepare for my act.”

“But what am I supposed to do? I’m sure Suga and Daichi will be busy too.”

“Don’t care,” was Tsukishima’s reply. When he looked at Yamaguchi, however, he saw a mix of anger, irritation, and hurt on his face. Tsukishima tsked again.

“This place is full of performers. I’m sure you can find something to entertain yourself with until after the performances end and Suga is available again. I have to go now.”

After being left alone, Yamaguchi suddenly felt like a lost child. Tsukishima’s rudeness and inconsiderateness was something Yamaguchi hated from the blond, but at least with Tsukishima by his side he didn’t feel so out of place. Having not much else to do, he decided Tsukishima was right. As people arrived, he decided to see what kind of performances the troupe had. He saw lots of people enter a large tent and decided to find out what was happening inside.

Once he entered, he was pleasantly surprised to see Sugawara performing for the audience. As he saw Suga create doves seemingly out of thin air, he realized Suga was a magician. He bowed, and suddenly a very tall man with long hair and a beard appeared with a large rectangular box. Suga stood in front of the box and explained that he would be cutting his assistant, by the name of Asahi, in half. The crowd awed in suspense and excitement. To Yamaguchi, however, the only one that looked like he was not looking forward to the trick was the assistant. The poor man looked terrified, but you can tell he was trying to hide it. Suga instructed Asahi to step into the horizontal box, and the man did as was instructed. The only parts visible to the audience was the assistant’s head and feet. Then, out of no here, Suga took out a saw and started to cut the box Asahi was in. The audience gasped in horror. Yamaguchi covered his eyes but peeked through them to see the rest of the act. After Suga finished cutting the box, he separated the two parts to show the audience that the box truly was cut. Although he was part of the act, Asahi’s face was pale with fear. To conclude the trick, Suga put the two pieces together, covered the box with a cloth, removed the cloth, and opened the box once again. Then, his assistant stepped out in one piece. The two bowed and the crowd cheered.

Wanting to see what else there was, Yamaguchi exited the tent. He visited other similar looking tents and was surprised by the acts each time. He saw acrobats, sword swallowers, jugglers, and other amazing performances. He even found out that Daichi was an animal trainer. When Yamaguchi saw him, Daichi was inside a cage with a lion. Yamaguchi was terrified for the man, but as he kept watching the performance, he could see that both man and beast had a mutual respect for each other and worked perfectly in synch together. It fascinated Yamaguchi how the man was not afraid of the lion.

As Yamaguchi left to explore some more, he spotted an area where children were gathered around a box. The box in question was designed like a small theatre. He walked up behind the children to see what was happening. He found that there was a puppet show going on. One of the puppets had wild, orange hair and a broad smile painted on his face. The other had dark, straight hair and a scowl on his face. He also wore a small crown and a cape. Later, two more puppets joined the scene. One had a shaved head while the other looked smaller than the other puppets and had wild hair sticking up with a blond fringe in the middle of his forehead. They were doing a comedy routine where the one with the crown would toss a ball to the orange haired puppet and the other would try to hit it. There were times where the orange haired puppet would completely miss hitting the ball and it would later land on his head. The “king” would yell “Dumbass!” to the orange haired puppet, but then the bald one would come in and break the forth wall. He’d tell the other puppets to mind their language because they were performing for children.

“Well, that’s one huge child!” exclaimed the smaller puppet pointing towards Yamaguchi. He laughed along with the other children in the audience. After a few more comedic acts, the puppets bid farewell to the kids and closed the curtains. Once the audience left, Yamaguchi approached the small stage to take a better look at it. As he inspected the detailed work on it, a small orange head popped out from behind the curtain.

“Oh! It’s the giant child!” the puppet exclaimed. Then the “king” came out as well.

“Idiot. He’s not a giant child. He’s that guy Suga told us was going to stay with us for the time being,” he said.

“He is?”

“He is.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Hinata Shouyou, and this grumpy guy is Kageyama Tobio.”

“I’m not grumpy. You’re just annoying.”

“Yeah, yeah. So, what’s your name?” Hinata asked.

“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi,” he said as Hinata stuck his little hand out to greet him. Yamaguchi gladly complied.

“Oh? What is this? Why weren’t we invited to the party?” said the small puppet with the blond fringe as he stepped out from behind the curtain with the bald puppet in tow.

“Ah! Yamaguchi, this is Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu,” Hinata said introducing the two new puppets.

“You can just call me Noya,” said the smaller puppet.

“It’s very nice to meet you all,” stated Yamaguchi.

“Well, how did you enjoy the act,” asked Tanaka.

“I thought it was great! You guys are so funny to watch.”

“Is what Suga said true? Are you going to be staying with us?”

“For the time you’re in this town, yes. He also said I can come along with you guys afterwards, but I don’t want to impose more than I already am.”

“What?! You’re not imposing! I think it would be a lot of fun if you came with us. You’re very pretty too so you’ll have no problem fitting in,” Hinata said. The last comment made Yamaguchi blush. No one had ever called him pretty before.

“Thanks for the compliment, but I think I’m just average looking. The freckles don’t help out either,” he answered honestly.

“Nonsense. I think they look pretty cute on you. Don’t you guys agree?” Tanaka addressed the other puppets as they nodded in agreement.

“They’re like the stars that appear at night!” Noya exclaimed.

This made Yamaguchi blush even more.

“O-oh, I don’t think they’re that beautiful or special.”

“They’re a part of you that make you who you are, and that makes them special,” Kageyama chimed in. Hinata gasped.

“Kageyama said something wise!” he yelled.

“Dumbass,” Kageyama said as he wacked Hinata, “I’m not as stupid as you so of course those words sound wise to you.”

The puppets suddenly started bickering back and forth and eventually turned into a fight. This made Yamaguchi laugh.

“You guy are so funny, but as to fitting in, I’m not so sure about that one.”

“What do you mean?” asked Kageyama.

“Well, Suga and Daichi are nice, so I know that I’ll get along with them well, but….” Yamaguchi trailed off.

“Is it Tsukishima?” asked Tanaka, reading Yamaguchi’s mind.

“Yeah. He’s a little mean and kind of rude.”

“‘Kind of?’ ‘A little?’ That guy is _super_ mean and _super_ rude! You should hear the way he talks to us!” exclaimed Noya.

“I’m sure he’s not that bad,” Yamaguchi said, trying to give Tsukishima the benefit of the doubt even after what had happened earlier in the day.

“Oh yes he is. He calls me and Noya names like shrimpy and shorty,” stated Hinata.

“Yeah, and he calls me baldy!” Tanaka also exclaimed.

“Well, he didn’t really talk to me while he was showing me around town. And when he spoke, it was always something mean like ‘figure things out yourself.’ I would also almost lose him in the crowd and he wouldn’t even look back to see if I was still behind him,” explained Yamaguchi.

“See, that guy’s a jerk,” Kageyama responded.

“Like you’re one to talk,” retorted Hinata. This sparked another argument and another fight from the two.

Afterwards, Yamaguchi and the puppets talked for hours. He got to know the puppets better and found that they were a fun lot to talk to. He thought that this must feel how having friends felt like. He didn’t even notice that it was getting dark until the lamps started to be lit.

“It’s so late, I should get going and find Suga,” he told the puppets. He didn’t expect a chorus of disappointed protests to come out.

“Will you come back tomorrow?” asked Hinata.

“If you want me to,” Yamaguchi answered.

“Of course we do,” answered Tanaka, and with that, Yamaguchi bid farewell to the puppets.

* * *

 

After looking around the troupe’s camp, he was finally able to locate Suga, who was looking for Yamaguchi too.

“Did you enjoy yourself today? I saw you in the audience earlier and figure you went to look at the other performances when I couldn’t locate you afterwards,” asked Suga.

“I did. You guys are amazing!” Yamaguchi answered in awe. Suga chuckled.

“I’m glad. You must be tired after all that excitement. It’s really late too,” Suga said, muttering that last statement to himself, “Let me show where you can sleep for the night.” Yamaguchi answered with a smile as he noticed how tired he truly was. He gladly followed Suga to a place he could finally rest for the night.

After entering a small tent and saying goodnight to Sugawara, Yamaguchi laid on his little cot to rest his weary body. The day might have started with him being homesick, but he was glad to have met people who made him feel like he was home once again, even if some of those people were puppets.

* * *

 

Leaving Yamaguchi’s tent, Suga made his way to his own tent to turn in for the night. On his way, he ran into Tsukishima, who by the looks of things was also getting ready to go to bed.

“Hey Tsukishima! How was the puppet show today?”

“It went well, I guess.”

“Great. Well, see you bright and early! It’s your turn to cook breakfast tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind me,” the blond answered as they parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing the puppets! I also had fun imagining Asahi as Suga's assistant in his magic acts. Imagine the kind of things Suga would make the poor guy go through. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this!!


	3. A Night for Working

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late!! Life has not been so great at the moment but I wanted to post something even if it's short. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Mornings for the troupe were fairly calm despite the atmosphere it displayed during its performances in the afternoons. Granted, people were still sleepy and tired after a successful first day. Yamaguchi woke up to the smell of something sweet. At first, his sleepy mind could not decipher what the smell was. He slowly rose out of his cot and got dressed for the day. After a few minutes of waking up, his mind finally kicked into gear and realized that the sweet smell was maple syrup. His stomach rumbled once his mind put together the pieces of what the delicious sent was. Making his way out of the tent, he walked around to find people getting ready for another day of performing. Subconsciously, Yamaguchi made his way to the place the smell of maple syrup was coming from. He walked up to a larger tent with tables and chairs he had seen the day before. He remembered that this was the place they had served food for the people who attended the troupe’s performances. It may have looked like a tent from the outside but the inside was designed to look like a small diner. It was simple, but it had that classic American diner look with its neon signs, red, white and chrome coloring, and even a small bar. There was an enclosed area that Yamaguchi assumed was the “kitchen.” As he walked in, he saw some of the troupe members having their breakfast. Then, he spotted Suga sitting at one of the bigger tables along with Asahi, Daichi, and even Tsukishima. Suga noticed Yamaguchi and waved him over.

“Did the smell of breakfast lead you here,” joked Suga when Yamaguchi was within earshot.

“Actually, it did,” he replied sheepishly.

“Well we’re still eating, if you’d like to join.”

“Oh, thank you. I will.”

“There’s an open spot next to Tsukishima,” replied Asahi. At the statement, Tsukishima abruptly stood up and declared he was done eating. Before he left to take his empty plate and silverware to get washed, Suga stopped him.

“Would you mind bringing Yamaguchi some breakfast,” he asked.

“I do,” came the curt response.

“Let me rephrase that. Please bring Yamaguchi some breakfast,” Sugawara said with his “mom” voice, as some of the troupe members called it. Usually, the magician wasn’t stern or demanding, but when he used that tone, nobody dared disobey him, not even Tsukishima. After a “tsk” from the tall blond, he walked off towards the “kitchen” and returned with a plate of thick French toast drizzled with warm maple syrup, served with butter that was slowly melting due to the warm bread, and decorated with strawberries that were dusted with powdered sugar. After placing the plate in front of Yamaguchi, the blonde once again excused himself and exited the diner- like tent.

“He got that rather fast,” commented Daichi.

“He probably already had it prepared,” suggested Suga. Whatever the case was, Yamaguchi just stared at the plate in front of him. It looked like something he once saw in a recipe book. He didn’t know whether to eat it or just stare at the beautifully decorated breakfast. Asahi saw Yamaguchi’s expression and spoke up.

“Is there something wrong with the food,” he asked.

“Oh, no. There’s nothing wrong. It’s just, it looks too pretty to eat,” he replied.

“Well, you should try some or else it’ll go to waste,” Daichi said chuckling at the young boy’s answer. Yamaguchi blushed slightly, but gladly dug into the food. With the first bite, the sweetness of the syrup and slightly buttery taste spread through his mouth. Yamaguchi’s eyes sparkled at the delicious taste. The others looked on, and it wasn’t hard to tell that he liked the food. They continued eating and idly chatted. It wasn’t long until everyone cleaned up and made their way out of the tent. After going their separate ways, Yamaguchi decided to look for his new friends.

* * *

 

He walked to the spot the little theater was yesterday and, as expected, it was right where it had been. As he approached the theater, he heard the familiar voices of Hinata and Kageyama bickering once again.

“I told you not to toss it too far!” yelled Hinata.

“It’s not my fault you weren’t quick enough!” Kageyama yelled back.

“It was totally your-” Hinata stopped mid- sentence once he spotted Yamaguchi, “You’re back!”

“Of course I am. I promised didn’t I?” Yamaguchi responded. Hinata practically vibrated with happiness. Then, he suddenly shouted.

“Tanaka! Noya! Yamaguchi’s back!”

From behind the curtains, the two other puppets came out.

“Well, well! You _did_ come back!” Yelled Nishinoya as well.

Tanaka turned to Kageyama, “My good king, I believe you owe us our payment from our bet.”

Grumbling, Kageyama reached into his little pockets and took out three circular metal pieces that resembled coins. Weird. Do puppets usually have pockets, Yamaguchi questioned. Either way, he thought it was silly that his new friends had made a bet on whether he was coming back or not. Who knew puppets could make bets. Yamaguchi certainly didn’t.

“So, what have you been up to since we last saw you?” asked Tanaka after he was done collecting his payment.

“Well, not much. Yesterday I just went to bed right after and when I woke up this morning I had breakfast. Then I made my way here. That’s about it,” Yamaguchi responded to the bald puppet’s question.

“How was breakfast?” Kageyama asked.

“It was so delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something as delicious as that in my entire life,” Yamaguchi responded with a glimmer in his eye.

“Personally, I think it could have been better. Then again, Tsukishima made breakfast today so it’s no surprise.”

“Tsukishima made it!? Really?” asked Yamaguchi in shock.

“Yeah, you didn’t know? I thought Suga would have told you. We all take turns cooking breakfast in the morning,” explained Nishinoya.

“That’s certainly a surprise. Tsukishima is full of surprises. I must admit, he’s a great cook,” Yamaguchi stated.

“He’s an ok cook. You should try Ennoshita’s cooking. He could probably get rich if he opened up his own restaurant. There’s some people in the troupe, including us, that have told him, but no, he wants to stay in the troupe,” Noya continued.

“Well, at least we get to eat his amazing food,”Hinata added.

“Can’t argue with that,” added Kageyama.

Yamaguchi and the puppets continued talking for a few minutes until Yamaguchi heard someone calling his name.

“I think that’s Suga,” Tanaka provided helpfully.

“I’ll go see what he needs. It’s also almost time for you to perform, so I’ll see you guys after your act,” stated Yamaguchi. As he was leaving to look for Suga, he heard various calls of ‘byes’ and ‘see you’s’ from the puppets.

* * *

 

Making his way through some tents, Yamaguchi found Sugawara and approached him.

“Ah, there you are. I know, this may be rude of me to ask since you’re a guest of ours, but do you think you can help the troupe out?” asked Sugawara.

“It’s no problem at all. What can I help out with,” asked Yamaguchi.

“Can you help us with taking orders and waiting tables at the dinning tent? We’re a little short on waiters since one of our previous troupe members left,” Suga explained.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Yamaguchi said happily.

“Great! Follow me and I’ll give you a uniform,” said Suga as he led Yamaguchi into another tent. After a while of silence, curiosity got the better of Yamaguchi.

“Umm, may I ask why your previous troupe member left?” he asked.

“Sure! It’s actually a really cute story. In the last town we stopped by, Kyoko, our troupe member, met a baker girl and it was like love at first sight for them. The girl was quite nice and a little shy, but you can tell the two hit it off right away. Anyway, Kyoko decided to stay behind to live with her new found love. The first day we met and I had to talk to Daichi, we were discussing what we were going to do about a replacement. That’s when I thought of you. I hope you don’t mind helping us out for the time being,” ended Suga.

“I don’t, really. I’m just happy I can help out,” said Yamaguchi. After Yamaguchi changed into a white collar shirt with a tie, black slacks, and a full body apron, they made their way to the dining tent.

“Upon entering the tent, he was introduced to two other waiters, by the names of Kinoshita and Narita, and the head cook, Ennoshita. Both Narita and Kinoshita showed him how everything worked. They both seemed like really nice guys. As the way Yamaguchi saw it, everyone in the troupe was so nice and friendly, so how was it that Tsukishima fit in with the rest? This was a mystery that Yamaguchi would have to find out later. At the moment, people started entering the “diner.” The day went by smoothly. Yamaguchi took orders, he brought out the food, delivered some drinks from the bar, and cleaned the tables after people were done eating. Although it was a little hectic, he was able to keep up with everything. It was towards the end of the night when things turned bad.

The only people that were left were some who were still drinking alcoholic beverages from the bar and some of the performers who were done for the day. One of those workers who had entered was Tsukishima. As always, he was quiet, alone, and looked moody. When Yamaguchi went to take his order, a brief flash of surprise crossed Tsukishima’s face at seeing Yamaguchi working there, but it was gone as quickly as it came. After coming back with his plate, Tsukishima thanked him. This gave Yamaguchi a big surprise. For the small time he had met the blond, never had he heard him thank anyone. This made Yamaguchi smile.

Tsukishima saw the freckled boy leave with a smile. He didn’t know what caused him to do that, but his smile made something in Tsukishima’s heart tighten. As he ate his dinner, he watched Yamaguchi take orders and bring out food or drinks to the people still in the tent. Suddenly, Tsukishima heard something from the tables near him that made his food taste bad in his mouth.

“That server kid with the freckles is kinda cute, don’t you think?” he heard a woman say to her friend.

“That may be a boy, but I wouldn’t mind taking him out for a night in the town, if you know what I mean,” he heard another man say.

Not only would he hear comments like those, but he would also see some of the people check Yamaguchi out. At times, he would see the boy talking and smiling with some of the patrons who were clearly flirting. Tsukishima then tsked in annoyance.

 _“Is he that dense? Seeing him smile like that while those people are flirting is irritating me,”_ he thought. As he saw Yamaguchi with another tray full of drinks, he suddenly got an idea. While Yamaguchi passed by him to deliver the drinks, Tsukishima stuck his foot out. This caused the boy to trip and drop all of the drinks he was carrying. As the drinks fell out of the tray, some of them spilled all over Yamaguchi. Everyone stared at the young boy and started to laugh at his misfortune. Embarrassed by the laughter, Yamaguchi wanted to cry, but he tried to hold it in as best he could. He looked around to try and find someone to help him out until he spotted Tsukishima. He was looking for some kind of comfort, but Tsukishima just looked away and muttered something that sounded like “pathetic.” This made Yamaguchi want to cry even more. Thankfully, Kinoshita came to his side and helped him up. Narita then cleaned up the drinks.

Taking him outside behind the tent, Kinoshita helped Yamaguchi clean up. Feeling bad for the young boy, he told Yamaguchi to retire for the night. Yamaguchi tried to protest and say he was fine, although he really wasn’t. Kinoshita told him not to worry, and that he and Narita could handle the rest of the night. With this reassurance, Yamaguchi left. After what had happened, he needed someone to talk to. Instead of going back to his tent, he went to look for his puppet friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter look forward to how Tsukishima reacts and what he thinks about his actions after the incident as well as Yamaguchi's conversation with the puppets *cough*Tsukishima*cough* on what happened. See you guys next time!!!


	4. Behind the Curtain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We peek a little bit into Tsukishima's past and why he has his puppets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long!! I won't keep you waiting anymore so enjoy :D

Feeling the stickiness of the drinks settling in, Yamaguchi decided to stop by his tent to change into something less wet. He felt bad for getting the uniform dirty, especially since he was only borrowing it while he was helping out. He decided to ask Suga about how he could wash it the next day. For now, he exited his tent and headed towards his friend’s theater.

* * *

 

Tsukishima sat in the dining tent waiting for Yamaguchi and Kinoshita to reenter. It wasn’t like him to pull a stunt like that on people, especially to people he had only known for a few days.  He felt terrible after seeing Yamaguchi’s face tear up in embarrassment after he tripped. He turned around right after his eyes had met Yamaguchi’s because he couldn’t face the fact that the freckled boy’s distress was because of him. Tsukishima had muttered a “pathetic” to himself. He really _did_ feel pathetic. Why did the comments those patrons said annoy him so much? What caused him to lose control of his rational thoughts and act the way he did? Tsukishima didn’t know. What he did know is that he had to talk to Yamaguchi, suck up his pride, and apologize.

He shifted his gaze towards the entrance, but the only person he saw was Kinoshita.  Tsukishima then realized that Kinoshita was walking towards his table. Perfect. He would ask where he could find Yamaguchi so he could apologize. Before he was able to say anything though, Kinoshita spoke, and he did not sound happy.

“I saw what you did. It’s unfortunate I was too late to do anything about it, but you better have a good explanation as to why you did what you did.”

“I….don’t,” the blond stated.

“Look, I know you’re not the type of person to hurt others. In fact, I’ve never seen you hurt anyone at all. Sure you can be rude and make snide remarks, but nothing like this. I’m not Suga or Daichi so I don’t know how well you’re going to listen to my advice, but please, try and figure out what came over you and go make amends with Yamaguchi. He’s a good kid and I don’t want him to feel out of place here.”

A few seconds passed as Tsukishima looked someplace other than Kinoshita’s face. Without knowing what to do and knowing that Kinoshita was right, he nodded his head. At this, the light haired waiter gave him a friendly smile.

“Good,” he said as he took a look around, “There’s still some people in here so I’m going to wait more tables. You’re a smart kid Tsukishima. I know you’ll fix things again.” With that last statement, he left Tsukishima to his own thoughts.

 _“Who does he think he is calling me a kid. He’s only two years older than me,”_ Tsukishima thought with more fondness and respect towards his troupe member than with actual malice and irritation. He stood up to go towards the puppet theater and think things through.

* * *

 

Being with his puppets allowed him to think more clearly. People might think it’s weird, especially for his type of personality, but the puppets, in a sense, gave him advice. Each of his puppets has a personality that’s completely different than Tsukishima’s. Growing up, he was never a friendly and cheerful child. People used to tell him that his apathy towards others was going to leave him alone for the rest of his life. He once confided to his brother what people would tell him, and the next day, his brother had given him a present. It was a puppet. The puppet had a wide cheerful smile to match his equally as bright wild orange hair. His brother told him that the puppet’s name was Hinata Shouyou. At first, Tsukishima didn’t understand what his brother was getting at. He then explained to Tsukishima that the puppet could help him understand others. He could portray the puppet with a personality of its own and talk to him. In other words, it was a way for Tsukishima to get into another person’s shoes and figure out how a person with a different personality would do in the situations and conversations Tsukishima would find himself in. At first he thought the idea was stupid, but gradually, he started to see what his brother was trying to do.

He didn’t always use the puppet to work through his problems, though. Over time, he would make up skits and work on his vocal delivery skills. At times, he would perform them for his family and even some of the townsfolk. Sometimes they would give the young puppeteer some money. He ended up using it to buy another puppet. This one had a scowl on his face and he wore a tiny crown and a cape. He decided to name it Kageyama Tobio. This allowed him to create a lot more skits for the tiny crowd who would listen to them.

Just as his people skills were improving, disaster struck to his family. Some sort of illness started to spread throughout his little town. It was a terrible sickness that would render its victims in bed, unable to move until inevitably the person died. It was to his unfortunate luck that his family caught it. He was one of the luck townspeople who managed to avoid the illness and survive through it. However, this rendered him an orphan. Wondering around, homeless and lonely, Tsukishima did the only thing he knew how to do in order to survive. He would perform his skits for strangers, and if he was lucky enough, they would give him some money or some food. One day, Lady Luck really was on his side. He was performing on the street when two young men happened upon one of his performances. The silver haired one seemed to really enjoy the show and asked Tsukishima if he wanted to join their troupe. Having no other option unless he wanted to live out in the streets for the rest of his life, Tsukishima accepted the offer. That’s how he ended up meeting Suga and Daichi and joining the troupe. That’s how he ended up in that town where he met a young freckled boy. That’s how he end up with his puppets once again to try and figure out how to apologize to said freckled boy. As he readied his puppets, he heard footsteps approaching the small theater. He was about to step out until he heard a familiar voice that had him frozen behind the theater.

 “Hinata? Guys? Are you there?” Yamaguchi called out. He waited a few seconds before deciding to just leave and go back to his tent. Suddenly, a shaggy orange head popped out from behind the curtain.

“WAAAA! Yamaguchi! Why are you here so late? I’m so happy you’re here though! Wait, let me call the others!” he said as loudly as ever as he disappeared behind the curtain again. Usually, Hinata’s boisterous attitude would make Yamaguchi smile, but not this time.

“Hinata, you dumbass. You better have a good reason to wake me up,” Kageyama’s voice sounded from behind the curtains.

“Yeah, don’t you see His Highness needs his beauty sleep or else he gets grouchy,” Noya’s voice came next.

“Nice one Noya!” snickered Tanaka. The tiny curtain opened and out came all the puppets.

“Yamaguchi! What brings you out this late?” asked Tanaka. Yamaguchi didn’t know how to start, so he just stayed quiet for a few moments.

“Hey, are you ok?” asked Kageyama with the same worry everyone was feeling.

“Sorry guys. It’s kind of been a bad night,” he finally managed to say. He was surprised to see what happened next. The puppets all gathered into a semicircle and settled.

“Whenever you feel ready to speak, we’re here to listen,” added Noya. This brought a smile to Yamaguchi’s face. He gave a small sigh before speaking.

“After I left you guys this morning, Suga asked me to help out at the dining tent. I was really happy to help. I still am. Everyone was really nice. Narita, Kinoshita, and Ennoshita are really great people.”

“So what happened?” asked Hinata.

“Shush, he’s getting there,” Kageyama told him.

“Well, Tsukishima-”

“What did that bastard do this time?” Noya practically shouted as he jumped up.

“Noya, calm down, He’ll tell us right now,” Tanaka said rather maturely as he settled Nishinoya. That maturity didn’t stay as his next sentence broke that image.

“So what did that bastard do this time?” he said rather angry.

Tsukishima waited patiently behind the curtain as Yamaguchi prepared himself to keep talking. Of course he knew what he did. He was the cause of this whole situation. At first, he wanted to set up the scenario with his puppets to try and figure out how to apologize to Yamaguchi. Now that Yamaguchi seemed like he wanted to vent out to the puppets, there was no way Tsukishima could refuse. Maybe this could help him with his apology. Maybe this could help Tsukishima build a better relationship with Yamaguchi. So he just waited. He waited, hiding behind the small theater’s curtains under the cover of the night sky.

 “At first, nothing. He just came in, ordered, and ate his food. He didn’t seem as broody as usual, and he wasn’t making any rude remarks. I thought I was finally able to talk to him like a normal person. That…feeling didn’t last long though. I came out with a lot of drinks and next thing I know, I’m tripping over Tsukishima’s foot. He stuck it out right as I was crossing him. I dropped all of the drinks on me.”

Tsukishima felt guilt spread throughout his body as Yamaguchi kept talking. He just wanted to step out a repeatedly apologize to the boy in front of the theater.

“Everyone in the tent started to laugh at me,” Yamaguchi continued as he covered his face, “I was so embarrassed. Especially since the people who were eating were saying really nice things to me.”

Suddenly, Tsukishima felt a wave of irritation build up. Fortunately, he managed to suppress it and asked in Kageyama’s voice, “What kind of things did they tell you?”

“Well, this lady said I was really polite considering my age, which I don’t really get. I always act like that with people. It’s the nice thing to do. Anyway, this other lady asked me if I wanted to take a stroll around town with her. She winked at me and said she could show me really nice places to visit, but I told her I couldn’t because I was helping out the troupe. This man also told me the same thing but said that night time is when things get more ‘fun.’  This younger man also told me that I was cute. That last thing made me blush. I didn’t know what to say, so I just thanked him for the compliment.”

There was a pause with the puppets, which was just Tsukishima trying to control his rising irritation.

 _“Get into character,”_ he told himself to try and calm down. The he proceeded to say in Nishinoya’s voice, “Yamaguchi, I think those people were flirting with you. Except maybe that first lady you told us about. That might have been a genuinely nice compliment.”

“They couldn’t have been. I mean, why would they? Anyway, that wasn’t what we were originally discussing.”

“Right, we were talking about that jerk Tsukishima,” added Hinata.

“Why would he just trip me for no reason? Maybe he just hates me.”

Yamaguchi’s statement made Tsukishima’s heart break a little. He didn’t hate Yamaguchi. In fact, he actually liked the country boy. He liked talking to him before shows and during the evenings. He didn’t talk to him in person, but the conversations he used the puppets to have were always enjoyable. Although it wasn’t him talking, he decided to be truthful with Yamaguchi.

“He may be a jerk, but he doesn’t hate you,” he spoke as Hinata.

“How would you know?”

“Sometimes he comes to talk with us, especially when he has problems. We may joke that he hates us and that we annoy him-”

“We do annoy him. It’s kind of fun, actually,” Tanaka interrupted.

“But we still get along,” Hinata continued like he didn’t get interrupted, “He’s talked to us about you too. Nothing bad, but how he wants to get to know you.”

“Then why did he trip me? Why does he keep acting the way he does?”

“Something must have bothered him,” stated Kageyama.

“I bother him?” asked Yamaguchi with a slight crack in his voice.

“No, no. I didn’t mean that. I meant that he probably heard something that made him snap.”

Everyone stayed quiet, pondering what could have made Tsukishima snap. Behind the curtain, Tsukishima knew why. Oh, he knew perfectly well what caused him to snap.

“Ah! Maybe it was the people who were flirting with you,” Noya said as if he had just figured out the answer to an age old puzzle.

“Stop saying they were flirting,” stated Yamaguchi in embarrassment, “and anyway, why would he get mad at that?”

“I don’t think he was mad.”

“Then what would you call it?”

“I don’t know. Probably ‘annoyed’ or ‘irritated.’ That guy seems to get more irritated than angry.”

“Then why would those comments irritate him?”

Another silence followed Yamaguchi’s comment. That was the question Tsukishima had been asking himself the whole night. As the silence grew, he kept thinking.

“See? If you can’t think of a possible answer, then it’s clear that he was mad,” Yamaguchi said in a solemn voice. Tsukishima hated that tone coming from the young country boy. He wanted to say something, anything that could answer his questions.

“He hates me,” stated Yamaguchi with a sad smile.

 _“No, no, no! I don’t hate you. I never did,”_ Tsukishima thought frantically. He wanted to emerge from the back of the theater and tell Yamaguchi, but his cowardice kept him from coming out.

“There’s no other explanation. Even if he was irritated, it was probably because of me. He even called me pathetic when I tripped and spilled the drinks,” continued Yamaguchi with teary eyes.

_“That’s not true! You’re not pathetic. I’m the pathetic one. I was calling myself pathetic, not you.”_

“I still think that it was those people’s comments,” pressed Hinata.

“Can we please drop that part of the conversation? It doesn’t even make sentence. We established that,” Kageyama argued.

“Yes it does!” Hinata fired back.

“No it doesn’t, dumbass!”

“Yes. It. Does.”

“Doesn’t!”

“Does!”

“Why?”

“Because it’s obvious he’s…” Tsukishima paused, finally figuring out the answer. On stage, whenever he had Kageyama and Hinata argue, it was usually for some sort of comedic effect. However, in private, their bantering usually helped him figure out answers to difficult questions he’d been pondering, whether it was for personal problems like this or just silly questions.

“He’s obviously what?”

“Jealous,” stated the orange haired puppet.

“Jealous? Why would Tsukishima be jealous?” questioned Yamaguchi.

“Because he likes you.”

“He what?”

“He likes you. Remember how I told you he would come and talk to us? And sometimes it was about you?”

Yamaguchi nodded.

“Hinata, you’re right. Guys, remember that one conversation?” Noya chimed in.

“Which one?” asked Tanaka.

“That conversation we had with Tsukishima where he said that he found Yamaguchi cute,” continued Noya. Well, technically Tsukishima did state that. He said it the first time he met Yamaguchi, just not as himself.

“Oh yeah. He also said that he ‘possibly, perhaps may have developed a teensy weensy tiny little crush.’ His words not mine,” added Tanaka. Ok, Tsukishima had never said that because he just found out he had a crush, but it worked for this fake conversation he supposedly had with his puppets.

“Guys I appreciate you trying to make me feel better and, um, finding an explanation for Tsukishima’s actions tonight, but I really don’t think he likes me,” said Yamaguchi. The puppets stayed quiet. Behind the curtains, Tsukishima was at a loss on what to say.

“It’s ok,” Yamaguchi continued, “I don’t mind. I mean, not everyone is going to get along. I have the other troupe members and you guys too. Sure I’d be happy if I could talk like normal friends with Tsukishima, but we can’t always have everything.”

“Yamaguchi…” Hinata said trying to figure out what to say next.

“It’s getting late. I should get going. Thanks for talking to me. I really appreciate you guys listening,” said Yamaguchi in a slightly cheerful tone.

“Yeah, sure. No problem. We’re here to help whenever you want to talk,” Tanaka supplied.

“Then I’ll see you guys tomorrow after breakfast. Goodnight,” Yamaguchi said as he turned around and head towards his tent.

“Bye! Sleep well!” Kageyama called towards him as Yamaguchi turned to wave one last goodbye for the night.

After he was sure that Yamaguchi had left, Tsukishima emerged from behind the theater. He stared into the direction Yamaguchi had left in and gave a huge sigh. He then ran his fingers through his hair as he went over the conversation that had just happened.

“That didn’t go as well as I thought,” he muttered. As he made his way towards his own tent, Tsukishima kept thinking about his new found crush and about the jealousy he felt back in the dining tent. Finally reaching his tent and entering, he sat on the edge of his cot. He was extremely tired after the day he had. He just wanted to go to sleep, but all he kept thinking about was Yamaguchi. Why didn’t he realize it sooner? The boy was constantly on his mind and he really _did_ want to get to know him better.

Tsukishima scoffed, “I couldn’t even apologize to him, let alone confess and tell him how I feel in person. I really am pathetic….. Such a pathetic coward.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I ever mentioned this but all my fics are unbeta'd so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Another thing, this is just a shameless promotion but I wrote a quick Daisuga one shot a couple days ago so if you guy like Daisuga, fluff, or are just curious go check it out! It's called "Sugar is Sweet"


	5. Under the Night Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is there a way to fix what has already been broken?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's been forever but I'm happy I'm finally able to get this out to you guys! Enjoy!!

The day after the incident, every time Yamaguchi spotted Tsukishima he would become tense with the fear of a repeat of what had occurred the previous night. During breakfast, he would talk and smile with the other troupe members like nothing had ever happened. Nobody noticed, but that’s only because Yamaguchi had years of practice while living in the orphanage. He was always the type of person who would hide his troubles because he didn’t want to burden somebody else or make them feel like they had to help him if he ever told them what was wrong. Unfortunately for him that morning, the only empty seat was next to Tsukishima again. It was hard to act happy when the cause of his fear was right next to him. He kept up the act until everyone was done with their food and went their separate ways to prepare for the upcoming show. Yamaguchi had never been so mentally exhausted in his life and it wasn’t even noon yet.

As promised, Yamaguchi made his way to meet with his puppet friends. Narita had told him that morning during breakfast that he was going to need Yamaguchi’s help earlier than the previous day. Still, he didn’t want to worry his friends for not showing up. He decided to just drop by for a quick visit. As the small theatre came into view, he could make out the bright orange hair that belonged to Hinata and the shiny, bald head of Tanaka. They were probably practicing some comedy skit.

“Hey guys!” he called out.

“WAAA!! Yamaguchi, you came!” exclaimed the smiling puppet.

“Didn’t I tell you guys I was going to visit you every day after breakfast?”

“Nope,” Hinata stated matter- of- factly.

“Oh, well, I decided to visit you guys after breakfast every day. Or at least as often as I can,” Yamaguchi cheerfully replied.

“Yamaguchi!” Hinata cried.

“But didn’t Narita ask for your help at the dining tent at breakfast?” Tanaka cut in.

“He did, but I didn’t want you guys to…Wait, how did you know he asked me?”

“I, um… We were told by Tsukishima when he passed by and told us not to worry if you didn’t stop to chat,” the puppet replied, but behind the curtain Tsukishima mentally cursed himself for using his own name. Especially since he knew how Yamaguchi felt about him at the moment. There was a silence that was slowly stretching out.

_“Crap! I’ve definitely ticked him off now,”_ Tsukishima kept thinking.

“He- he saw me,” Yamaguchi whispered. It was faint but Tsukishima definitely hear that sentence. Wondering what he meant by that, he started to speak as Hinata.

“Yamaguchi? What’s-”

“I’m so embarrassed! I can’t believe he saw me talking to you guys! I hope Tsukki doesn’t think I’m crazy. He already hates me and now he’ll think I’m some lonely, crazy person!” Yamaguchi cried out in embarrassment.

“What’s wrong with talking with-” Tsukishima irritatingly started in Hinata’s voice but quickly stopped as his brain zeroed in on a specific word uttered by the freckled boy.

“Tsukki?” he asked instead. This caught Yamaguchi’s attention.

“Oh, um, I- I just thought ‘Tsukishima’ was too long. I’m sorry! I won’t say it again!”

“You’re right though. That name’s too long. You can say it around us if you want,” stated Hinata.

Tanaka chimed in, “Yeah, just don’t let Tsukishima hear you.”

_“Cuz my heart won’t be able to take it if you say it directly to me,”_ thought Tsukishima as he felt a blush heat up his face. Good thing nobody was able to see him behind the curtains.

“Y-yeah. Right. Well, I need to go before I get scolded by Narita. I didn’t see Kageyama and Noya today so say hi to them for me,” stated the country boy as he left with a light blush on his face.

“Will do!” assured Hinata. Once he knew Yamaguchi had left, Tsukishima brought his puppets “backstage.” He stared at his Hinata puppet and the puppet stared back.

“Tsukki, you’re blushing,” he said in the puppet’s voice.

“Shut up,” he replied even though he was sporting a goofy smile because of the nickname. Because of his personality, he never really had friends growing up so nobody had ever given him a nickname before. In fact, even if someone would have given him a nickname, he would probably tell them never to use it again. However, since it was Yamaguchi who came up with it, Tsukishima wouldn’t mind if he were the only one to call him “Tsukki.” Setting up his puppets in front of the curtains again to rehearse, he kept replaying Yamaguchi’s voice say “Tsukki” over and over. Just remembering made him extremely happy. Just that one word was already making his day. He had never felt so happy in his entire life. He decided right then and there that after the show he would go find Yamaguchi, properly apologize, and ask if they could become friends.

* * *

 

The hours passed as the evening finally came to an end, and it was no surprise that Tsukishima was starving. He hadn’t eaten anything besides breakfast that day. He packed up his puppets in a special case and properly closed the theater’s curtains. He then walked over to the dining tent to get some dinner.

_“Oh, I’ll probably see Yamaguchi there. Perfect, I’ll ask to talk to him when I do,”_ he thought to himself as the tent’s opening came into view. Usually, he would first drop off his puppets’ case at his tent, but today was different because one; he was so hungry to the point that his stomach was hurting and two; thinking about Yamaguchi all day made him want to see the freckled waiter. As he walked through the entrance, he immediately spotted Yamaguchi. As luck would have it, Yamaguchi had also noticed the blond walking into the dining tent. He immediately went tense but tried not to show it. He observed the puppeteer make his way to the table where he had sat at the last time. Cautiously, he approached the table.

“He-hello,” Yamaguchi stuttered and then cleared his throat, “What can I get for you today?”

“I’ll have a burger and just a water,” Tsukishima answered in his usual board tone.

“Ok. We’ll have your order out soon,” he said, but as he turned around, Tsukishima’s voice stopped him.

“Hey, are you free after-”

“Sorry, but I get exhausted after working so I just want to go back to my tent and rest.”

“…Right,” Tsukishima answered at Yamaguchi’s interruption. Since it seemed like Tsukishima wasn’t going to talk anymore, Yamaguchi rushed toward the “kitchen.” He didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary around Tsukishima. Not wanting to bring out the blond’s food out, he tried to stall as much time as he could by waiting tables while the food was being made. Unfortunately for him, the food was done in no time. He went towards the burger, and just as he was about to grab it, he decided to glance over at Tsukishima to mentally prepare himself. All he saw was the puppeteer resting his cheek on one hand and tapping the table with the index finger of his other hand impatiently. Yup, Yamaguchi decided that no amount of mental preparedness will help him. Why was he so afraid of Tsukishima? He didn’t know, but he was certain he didn’t want a repeat of what had happened. Lucky for him, Narita came by to pick up another order.

He approached the older waiter and asked him, “Um, would you mind if we switch tables.”

“Hm? Why’s that?”

“Well, you see,” he started as he shifted his gaze towards Tsukishima.

“Oh, I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Narita stated with an understanding expression on his face. Relieved, Yamaguchi whole heartedly thanked him.

Spotting someone in his peripheral vision, Tsukishima looked up expecting to see Yamaguchi. Instead, he found Narita approaching him with what looked like his meal. As his older troupe member set down his plate, Tsukishima just stated, “He asked to switch tables with you, didn’t he?”

Narita gave a sympathetic smile knowing that Yamaguchi didn’t want to interact with Tsukishima after the whole tripping incident, “Sorry,” he said and he left to deliver more meals. Tsukishima silently ate his hamburger and once in a while he watched Yamaguchi take orders. Sometimes when the freckled boy passed by his table, Tsukishima could feel a cold aura coming from him. Then, he came to a conclusion.

_“He’s ignoring me. Well, I guess I deserve that. I’ll just keep my distance from him until this blows over._ If _it ever blows over,”_ he thought solemnly. Finishing his last bites, Tsukishima started to feel the tiredness from the day finally accumulate and settle on his body.

Two tables away from where the blond was sitting, Yamaguchi was clearing up some plates as he watched the tall puppeteer stand up as Narita passed by with another load of dirty dishes.

“Gonna go sleep now?” he overheard the other waiter ask.

“Yeah, the audience tires you out believe it or not. Anyway, thank Ennoshita for me. The foods was delicious again. Seriously that guy should just open up his own restaurant,” came Tsukishima’s response. Yamaguchi paused, why does it feel like he’s heard this conversation before?

“Yeah, but you already know what he’s going to say if we tell him,” Narita continued.

“True. That guy loves the troupe.”

“We all do. And so do you.”

Tsukishima just stayed silent at that, but Narita didn’t need an answer to know Tsukishima loved the troupe just as much as everyone else. Yamaguchi watched as Tsukishima bent down to pick up a case and proceeded to walk out of the tent.  Narita made his way towards Yamaguchi and started walking with him to the area where the dishes were washed.

“Did you over hear that?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Yamaguchi apologized.

“Don’t mind. He’s always saying that Ennoshita should open up his own restaurant, but we all know he secretly hopes he doesn’t. Seriously, that Tsukishima can be so cute at times.”

They finally arrived at the area and left the plates to be washed by another troupe member.

“Cute?” Yamaguchi asked as they walked back. He couldn’t imagine Tsukishima as cute. Handsome, maybe, but not cute. Suddenly he stopped his train of thought. Wait, did he just call Tsukishima handsome? Thankfully Narita kept talking and Yamaguchi didn’t go into overthinking mode.

“Yup. He’s actually the youngest in the troupe. Well, besides you now. I guess it’s an older people thing where we find people younger than us as cute. He was super young when he joined, so to us he’s always been like a little brother with a huge sassy attitude.”

“Is- is that so?”

“Yup! He may not be very little anymore but he still has that attitude. You just get used to it. He was kind of off today though, especially since he doesn’t usually bring his case with him after the show.”

“What’s in that case anyway?”

Narita gave him a sly smile. Yamaguchi suddenly felt nervous.

“Don’t know. You should ask him when you get the chance, but for now we should get back to work,” the waiter stated, hoping that this will get Yamaguchi to talk to Tsukishima. Yamaguchi internally groaned. He didn’t want to talk to Tsukishima, but he was curious about the case. Especially since it seemed that Narita _did_ know what was in it but didn’t want to tell him.

Yamaguchi went back to work and it managed to take his mind off of the blond boy. However, it was when he was back in his tent ready to go to sleep that his mind wondered back to the case Tsukishima had. What was in it? Was it an instrument? Perhaps weapons like knives? Now that he was thinking about it, what exactly did Tsukishima do in the troupe? He overheard the conversation with Narita stating that the audience can get tiring, meaning he had to be some kind of performer. Thinking back to his first day, he saw the different attractions and performances the troupe held, but he never once saw Tsukishima. Maybe he wore some kind of costume and Yamaguchi just didn’t recognize him.

_“Why am I even thinking about this? I’m trying to avoid him. Ok, that sounds a little mean to say. Maybe I should just forgive him,”_ Yamaguchi thought. It certainly wasn’t like him to hold a grudge, he wasn’t like that. He gave a sigh.

_“I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow_ ,” was his final thought as he rolled over on his side and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Unfortunately, “tomorrow” never came. At breakfast, everyone was in the dining tent like usual, except a certain tall, blond puppeteer wasn’t there.

“Um, I couldn’t help notice Tsukishima isn’t here,” he stated.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Sometimes he does this,” Asahi replied.

“He took his breakfast back to his tent. Said he was working on a new routine for his performance,” added Suga.

“He’s a very organized sort of person, so whenever he gets an idea, he writes it down and goes over it again and again until he feels like it’s ready. Sometimes when he’s stuck he likes to isolate himself for a little while.”

“Ah, I see,” Yamaguchi responded and kept eating his breakfast. After eating, he headed over to talk with the puppets. The crazy antics of his friends was something he always looked forward to. As usual, Hinata and Kageyama were arguing and Noya and Tanaka were as boisterous as ever. When it was finally time to head back towards the dining tent, he would subconsciously be on the lookout for Tsukishima but he never saw him. Tsukishima didn’t even enter the tent that night to eat dinner. Yamaguchi was sure he’d be able to talk to him then.

That’s how the days and weeks went by. He would look for Tsukishima but the blond would never be around or he would “just barely miss him” at breakfast. He even stopped going to the dining tent after all the performances were done for the day. The country boy would occasionally catch a glimpse of the blond, but he would always get lost in the crowd.

_“I should have just said yes when he tried to talk to me two weeks ago,”_ Yamaguchi sighed as he walked through the town’s streets, arms full of paper bags with various food items. _“Well, today’s the perfect chance! I won’t let today go to waste,”_ he thought with determination. What was different about today? Well, today was the day the troupe took off to rest after two weeks of non-stop performances. Suga had explained that this was something they always did. It was a day when the troupe members could relax, have fun, and drink to their heart’s content. Some would even go as far as calling it a party. Apparently, there would be music, food, dancing, and a bonfire at night. It was a day the members in the troupe could enjoy themselves. It also happened to be Tsukishima’s birthday that day.

Suga had given Yamaguchi the task of going into town to buy ingredients for Tsukishima’s birthday cake. It was a surprise to him when the people in town recognized him. The old lady that owned the grocery store even gave him a discount as a thanks to the troupe for reminding her of the time she was also part of a troupe. Apparently she had been a contortionist. He internally cringed and panicked because he had seen what contortionists could do, and the thought of the elderly lady doing any of those kinds of tricks almost gave him an unnecessary heart attack. Yamaguchi must have shown his reaction on his face because the lady just chuckled and reassured him that that was long in the past now.

He smiled at the memory and kept walking. The road he was on wasn’t as lively as the central streets, but he managed to greet a few people. Then, he came across a man who frequently visited the dining tent. It was the man that had called him “cute” his first night working.

“Hey! If it isn’t the cute waiter from the troupe’s dining tent,” he greeted as Yamaguchi stopped.

_“There he goes calling me cute again,”_ he thought, “Thank you for always visiting.”

“Well, if I get to see you every day it’s worth it. By the way, there’s no performances today right? Something about giving the workers a break?”

“Yeah.”

“Too bad. I was thinking of telling you something important today. I guess I got lucky I ran into you.”

Yamaguchi kept walking but felt an uneasiness settle as the man walked with him. Cautiously he asked, “What did you want to tell me?”

The man, without warning, grabbed Yamaguchi’s wrist and caused him to drop the bags he was carrying, making them both stop. The man stepped closer towards Yamaguchi, making his heart beat in a panic.

“Look, I’ve dropped multiple hints already, but it seems like you want me to spell it out for you. I’m interested in you, so just go out with me already.”

“I- I can’t. I-”

“Don’t try to tell me it’s because you’re part of that troupe and you’ll leave in the next two weeks. I’ve already dome my research and found that they offered to take you in but you haven’t accepted their offer. Truth of the matter is, you don’t want to go with them so just accept me and become mine.”

“But-”

“You’re lucky, you know. Most people would kill just to have me look at them. But you caught my attention, so now you have to take responsibility for it,” the man said as he leaned even closer. Yamaguchi was fast enough to lift his other hand and place it on the man’s chest to push him away. However, the man was quick to respond and grabbed Yamaguchi’s other wrist. He tightened his grip and leaned in again to try and kiss the younger boy. Yamaguchi wanted to run, wanted to scream, but panic held him in place. He closed his eyes, waiting in fear, but as he waited, nothing ever happened. Hesitantly, he opened an eye. What he saw, took him by surprise. The man was even more surprised as he felt his shirt’s collar being forcefully tugged from the back. His grip on Yamaguchi slacked, so whoever was behind the man took the opportunity to yank him off of the scared country boy. Stepping in between them, Tsukishima stood facing the man. To say Yamaguchi was shocked was an understatement. He had been looking for Tsukishima for days with no luck, and now he shows up out of nowhere to rescue him from danger.

“You must be an idiot if you can’t see that he’s not interested,” Tsukishima told the man in a terrifyingly calm voice. It wasn’t hard to tell that the man was clearly angered. The man was about to retort but quickly stepped down after taking a look at Tsukishima’s face. The young puppeteer was already intimidating enough with his height and constant scowl, but after seeing Yamaguchi in that situation, anger couldn’t even describe the rage he was feeling. The man, sensing Tsukishima’s murderous wrath, quickly got to his feet and high tailed it out of there.

Tsukishima turned towards Yamaguchi and asked if he was ok. Yamaguchi just nodded, and quietly, the two boys proceeded to pick up the bags that Yamaguchi had dropped. After gathering everything up, Tsukishima asked if Yamaguchi was ok enough to walk back to where the troupe was stationed. He answered “yes” but before he could say anything else, the blond had already walked off. He had missed his chance again, but this time it couldn’t be helped. Yamaguchi hurried back to the troupe to help in preparation for the evening, because he now knew that no matter what, he would finally be able to talk to Tsukishima.

* * *

 

It wasn’t until the night sky had appeared that the two would finally meet. Behind the field where the troupe had been set up, there was a grassy hill where Tsukishima lied down and quietly watched the stars twinkle, away from all the noise his comrades were making.

“So this is where you were,” he heard a familiar voice say. Tsukishima sat up and saw Yamaguchi smiling at him. He held a plate with a slice of cake on it.

“Suga said you’d be here,” Yamaguchi stated as he sat down next to the tall boy and handed him the cake.

“Thanks,” Tsukishima said as he took a bite of the cake. Yamaguchi just watched as the blond’s face turned into something of pure delight. This made something inside Yamaguchi twinge.

“I didn’t think you were the type to enjoy something like strawberry shortcake.”

“You would if you got to know me.”

“Well, I’d be able to know you if you weren’t such a jerk,” Yamaguchi retorted, but chuckled afterwards.

“Why aren’t you with the others enjoying your party?” he then asked.

“It’s not my party. My birthday just happened to land on the same day as our rest day. Seriously, those guys are such party animals.”

This just made Yamaguchi chuckle again. Curious, Tsukishima raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Suga told me you might say that,” he explained, “He knows you so well.”

“Well, he’s known me since I was 11.”

“Wow, so young! How did you manage to get your parents on agreeing to let you join their troupe?”

This made Tsukishima stay silent. Suddenly, Yamaguchi felt like he had overstepped some boundaries he shouldn’t have crossed. He was about to apologize, but Tsukishima proceeded to explain how he joined the troupe. He explained how he became an orphan and how Suga and Daichi had found him on the streets. In the light of the moon with the sound of the troupe members in the background, Yamaguchi silently listened to his story.

“I guess you can say they adopted me into their family. Seriously, that old married couple just adopt anyone they find. It happened to you too.”

“Now that you mentioned it, I think I heard Daichi say something like that my first day here.”

Another silence stretched between them, so Yamaguchi decided this was the perfect time to say what he had been wanting to say for the past two weeks.

“I’m sorry for brushing you off all those weeks ago. I wanted to apologize earlier but I was never able to find you. And also…thanks…for helping me today. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”

Tsukishima looked at the freckled country boy, “Don’t worry about it. Actually, I should be the one to apologize for tripping you. And for avoiding you.” That last part was said a little more shyly.

“Wait, you were purposely staying away from me this whole time?” Yamaguchi asked shocked.

“The last time I showed up at the dining tent I was going to apologize and ask if we could start over, but I could tell you didn’t even want to see me, so I decided to keep a distance between us.”

This made Yamaguchi feel a little ashamed at his actions, but he caught something in Tsukishima’s words.

“Start over? You mean…you wanted to….” He left the sentence hanging.

“Be your friend,” Tsukishima finished, “Can I?”

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened with glee and the biggest smile appeared on his face. At that moment, Tsukishima realized that the young freckled boy shone brighter than any star in the night sky.

“I’d like that!” Yamaguchi said enthusiastically and shifted his whole body to face Tsukishima. The blond didn’t know what was going on, but he patiently waited.

“Since you said you wanted to start over,” the country boy cleared his throat and gave another smile, “Hi, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi!”

Tsukishima decided to play along, but instead, he got an even better idea. “Hi, I’m Tsukishima Kei, but you can call me Tsukki.”

All he saw was Yamaguchi’s face turn into one that red “Who told you that?” He just answered the silent question by saying, “Let’s just say a little orange haired shrimp told me.”

“I’m so sorry!” Yamaguchi said in horror.

“It’s fine,” Tsukishima responded, giving Yamaguchi a rare smile. That smile alone made Yamaguchi blush a faint tint of pink. Luckily it was dark, so Tsukishima didn’t notice. They fell back into a comfortable silence after that and just stared at the night sky. 3After a while though, Yamaguchi broke that silence.

“By the way, what were you carrying in that case the last time you were at the dining tent?”

The tall boy just smirked, “Sorry, you need to unlock friendship level 10 to find out.”

“Tsukiii~ That's not fair!”

Tsukishima laughed as his new friend pouted, but Yamaguchi’s laugh joined his soon after. Narita was right. Tsukshima could certainly be cute at times.


	6. Something Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long absence but the next chapter is finally here! School, college, and loss of inspiration has kept me from my fics but I promise I will finish all of them! I won't abandon them. I'm sorry if it's a little short. I'm still trying to get back in the groove of writing!!

The next day, Yamaguchi found himself feeling lighter than he had the last few weeks. He had finally talked to Tsukishima and had earned his friendship in the process. The weight that had hung over him had completely decapitated, so much so, that he did not even register how well he had slept that night. He quickly realized how late in the morning it had gotten. Luckily, he made it in time for breakfast. However, during breakfast, he couldn’t see his new friend anywhere in the tent. Whenever someone entered, Yamaguchi would quickly turn his head to the entrance, heart beating in excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately, it was never the person he was waiting for. Everybody quickly finished and left to practice their routines for the coming audience later that day. Yamaguchi was the last one in the tent by the time he finished his own breakfast. A little sad that Tsukishima didn’t show up that morning, Yamaguchi gave a sigh.

“If you were looking for Tsukishima, he’s still cooped up in his tent working on new material for his act,” said a voice behind him, startling the unsuspecting country boy.

Yamaguchi turned to the owner of the voice, “Oh, I, uh, I wasn’t-”

He was cut off by a friendly chuckle. Ennoshita was going around the tables picking up stray plates left behind and wiping tables clean.

“Well, I’m sorry for assuming as much,” he apologized.

Yamaguchi just gave a sheepish smile and asked, “Since I stayed so late in here, let me help you with the dishes.”

“I’ll appreciate any help I can get.”

With that, the pair made their way to the washing area. Ennoshita turned towards a wooden pole with hooks protruding out of it. There were pieces of cloth hanging from them, and soon, he was reaching for one of them. Turning back to Yamaguchi, he handed the cloth to the country boy. As Yamaguchi took it, he realized it was an apron. Smiling, he put it on and tied it securely around his waist.

It was peaceful. The only noise being made was the splash of the water and the squeaking of the washing rag on the plates. It was calming with the repetitive motions, but mostly it was because of the older cook’s calming aura. From the little time he’s been with the troupe, he came to find Ennoshita as a peaceful person. Sure, he could be kind of scary when things got out of hand and had to put people in their place, but overall, he was a kind soul. Yamaguchi admired him because of that.

After a while, all the plates and glasses were spot free. The only thing left to do was let them dry.

As Yamaguchi dried his hands on the apron, Ennoshita spoke up.

“Well, looks like we’re done.”

“But don’t you still need to prep for the orders later today? I can help you if you want,” responded Yamaguchi. Ennoshita just smiled at him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that. Go spend your free time with your new friend.”

For some reason, this made Yamaguchi blush. Clearly Ennoshita knew something he didn’t. With another chuckle, the cook waved him off. However, as soon as he exited the tent, Daichi rushed in, completely ignoring him. Curiosity wanted to get the better of him, but he held back. Deciding it was none of his business, he made his way to Tsukishima’s tent. He decided that Tsukishima had isolated himself for far too long and needed a break from whatever he was working on.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Tsukishima sat on his cot cross-legged. His puppets laid in front of him, staring back up. He was currently trying to figure out new jokes and skits his puppets could do. Maybe he could do something to involve the audience. The first time Yamaguchi showed up to one of his shows, he had accidentally involved him. He didn’t mean to, but he’s glad the country boy just laughed and went along with it. The children seemed to get a kick out of it. Yes! That could be something he could do! Make it more interactive! He grabbed his notebook and started to scribble down some ideas.

Whenever he was writing down material, he tended to zone out. Nothing could brake him out of his inspiration.

Until now.

“TSUKKI!” he heard, effectively breaking him out of his trance. There was only one person who called him that. Granted, he only started to be called that the day before, but the voice was all too familiar. Tsukishima hear footsteps coming closer towards his tent. He heaved as sigh of annoyance as he glanced down to his puppets. However, that suddenly turned into panic. He could _not_ let Yamaguchi see Hinata, Tanaka, and Kageyama.

“DON’T COME IN!” He yelled as soon as he heard the footsteps right in front of the tent entrance. Luckily Yamaguchi listened.

“But Tsukki…”

“I, um, I’m getting dressed. Give me a second,” he said in return, voice slightly laced with panic.

As soon as those words were out, he grabbed his brown suit case from under the bed, opened it, and unceremoniously shoved his precious puppets in it. He closed it hastily and noticed some of Hinata’s hair got caught in the opening. He was about to fix it hen he heard Yamaguchi speak again.

“Can I come in now? It shouldn’t take you this long,” he said as he opened the tent flap.

This prompted Tsukishima to messily shove the suitcase under his bed again and stand up to face his new friend. It’s a good thing he had practice in schooling his facial expressions. He may seem cool and collected on the outside, but he was screaming on the inside.

“What brings you here this late in the morning?” he asked with a steady voice.

Yamaguchi studied him for a second. He could have sworn he saw a brief flash of panic in Tsukishima’s face, but now it was all gone. His stance seemed stiff and nervous though, like he was trying to hide something.

“I, um…” he started but his curiosity couldn’t take it. He tried to look behind Tsukishima, but the puppeteer’s height somewhat obstructed his view. He did, however, notice something orange slightly sticking out from under Tsukishima’s cot. He felt a vague sense of familiarity.

“Stop snooping,” said puppeteer said. This brought a blush to Yamaguchi’s cheeks. He hadn’t meant to.

“Oh! I wasn’t!” he said, waving his hands in front of him. Tsukishima just rolled his eyes. However, before either of them could say anything else, the tent flap opened again. To their surprise, Ennoshita stood by the entrance.

“Oh, Yamaguchi. I didn’t think you’d actually take my advice,” he said with a smile. The statement had Yamaguchi stuttering and a faint blush forming on Tsukishima’s face.

 “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything,” he said with an apologetic smile, “But I need a huge favor from Tsukishima.”

The two friends looked at each other curiously. No matter how short a time he’s been with the troupe, Yamaguchi knew Ennoshita wasn’t the type to ask for favors. If anything, everyone else were the ones asking _Ennoshita_ for favors.

Knowing this fact as well, Tsukishima asked, “What is it?”

The next statement that came out of Ennoshita was definitely _not_ something he had expected to hear from the peaceful cook.

“I need you to be my knife throwing partner for the next couple performances.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it, and hopefully it wont take me ages to put the next one up!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! And to those who are reading my other stories, I promise I'll keep writing them. When? I don't know, BUT I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON THEM. You guys should just yell at me to give me some more motivation.


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